The Slovenia of my imagination came with blue skies, sunshine, and fat white clouds. Real Slovenia was not like that. In real Slovenia it rained, a lot, and I spent most of the time with soggy shoes and wet jeans. If ever I return to Europe in the fall I will not arrive without […]

Europe has my heart; it always will. That’s why I felt so betrayed when I got sick in the Zurich airport. After a very brief overnight layover where our hostel accommodation cost three times that of our boutique hotel in Bangkok, I woke with an unpleasant sensation in my stomach. I will spare you the […]

Seven years ago I went to Slovenia for the first time. It was part of my Eastern Trekker tour with Busabout, during the six weeks of summer that would alter the course of my life. The Busabout internship came at a time when things looked great on the outside, but weren’t quite right under the […]

The first time I went to Vienna, it rained. I didn’t have an umbrella so I spent a lot of time hiding under shop eaves and stripping Jared of his not-so-waterproof-but-better-than-nothing jacket, leaving him to get wet. I didn’t really know what I was supposed to do in Vienna, so I wasn’t sure what I […]

The other day ’60 Minutes’ ran a feature on the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. I didn’t see the show, but I did read several posts on Facebook by people who were fascinated by the story, and who had never heard of the Sagrada Família before. Never heard of it. I gasped (for real) because I didn’t […]

The first city I fell in love with was Paris. The second was London. YES. London. People around the world have always questioned me on this: “London? Why? It’s dirty, crowded, expensive <insert negative adjective here>, and horrible.” These things may be true. London can be a city of luxury or a city of poverty, […]

Hi. I’m Lauren.

After working 30+ jobs in 6 different countries, I realized that the perfect career was not out there waiting for me, and that I didn't ever have to get travel out of my system. I built a professional life through a series of lateral movements, not a climb up the career ladder. I'm now a writer, currently road-tripping Australia with my husband and a camper trailer, extolling the virtues of working holiday visas to anyone who will listen.